HOUSTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) — Revenue from North American operations alone dropped 4 percent in the third quarter as the oil business environment declined further, Schlumberger said.
“For oilfield services, the market outlook for the coming quarters looks increasingly challenging with activity expected to be reduced further,” Schlumberger Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said in a statement.
Schlumberger said third quarter revenue fell 4 percent for North American operations and 7 percent internationally. Year-on-year, revenue for North American operations alone dropped 34 percent.
In a September report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said total upstream investments could stay below the 10-year average if crude oil prices remain depressed. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil prices, closed trading Thursday about 0.3 percent below the start of October despite a rally last week.
When announcing second quarter figures in July, Kibsgaard said the oil field industry in North America may be “touching bottom.” Last week, oil field services company Baker Hughes, however, reported the number of rigs deployed regionally continued to decline.
“The business environment deteriorated further in the third quarter,” Kibsgaard said.
Looking forward, the CEO said the company will struggle through the fourth quarter because of a seasonal winter slowdown in oil and gas drilling. Schlumberger already shed about 15 percent of its workforce, but stressed some additional savings were coming through the training of its workers for multiple tasks. Caution, however, was necessary, Kibsgaard said.
“In light of conservative customer budgets for next year, we are therefore entering another period during which we will continually adjust resources in line with activity, as the recovery now appears to be delayed,” he said.
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